This is Spirit: Ghosts of the Past
by This is the real deal
Summary: Kotemon always wondered why the high ranking Digimon looked at him with hatred, but he never really worried about it... Until he somehow fell into the real world. Seemingly by chance, him and his new partner, Emily, are now entwined not only with Kotemon's past, but the fate of the Digital World, and all the Digidestined may not even be enough... This... is... Spirit!
1. Prologue

**Yo! Enjoying the Christmas air fellow writers? Well, I have no idea if I'll continue this or not, depends on the reviews I get I suppose. As usual, this will mainly be something that links to or ties up loose ends in my Medabots story, or rather it's a sequel of it (even though it's not finished yet...) so as my style, expect to see many familiar faces from all seasons. Yes, **_**ALL **_**seasons. Seasons 1-6 man! Maybe even some V-Tamer stuff up in here! But for the most part this is a fic with OC characters. If anybody feels willing to send in OCs to me be my guest, they can have any kind of Digivice as well. D-3, 01 Digivice, Taichi Digivice, D-arc/D-power, D-Tector/ D-Scanneer, the-thing-in-season-5-whose-name-I-can-never-remember, Xross Loader, though I'm a bit uninformed about the V-pet names so whatever. I'll have a template at the bottom if you need one. Well, this chapter is just the prologue, introduce the mysterious past of characters and stuff so tell me what you think. And if someone can think of a better name for this fic be my guest... So, on with the show!**

**This is the Real Deal presents:**

**This is Spirit! Ghosts of the Past**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Digimon franchise, that belongs to Toei animations and Shounen and stuff, not mine. The original Fleria who the one below is based off of, but VERY different to belongs to the Monster Rancher series and stuff. No it's not a Monster Rancher Crossover. Or is it?...The plot here is mine though, otherwise I wouldn't have hosted it. Duh!**

_**Prologue**_

_We opened our eyes slowly. Funny, that was something we didn't think we'd be able to do at this point. We should've been dead by now; our data should've been rearranged and reconfigured into something new. No... That was last time... Now we should've been blown into millions and billions of particles of space dust, left to flitter and float around the solar system, maybe even the whole galaxy with the force of that explosion. A shooting star passed through the permanent night sky, no... It was a comet or a meteor. We don't think it's still a shooting star if we're right next to it. We reached out our hand towards it, the warmth filling what was left of our body. It felt familiar... It felt like home... We felt tears stream down our face, but it was just our imagination, we had no body left to cry with. So why did it feel so real?_

"_Sovereign," a gentle, almost heavenly female voice called out. We turned our head to face it. We chuckled to ourselves._

"_We're meeting each other far too much Fleria," we said. "Isn't it time that you leave us to die in peace?" Fleria remained silent. "We've accomplished our purpose have we not? You told us that we must carry the Xross Code within ourselves, that we must deliver it to the boy. We've done that, and because of that we have lost... I struggle when I say this, _**I **_have lost the only human companion that we could call a friend... So because we lacked the power, we shall just float here in the dark abyss of space, and hope he makes use of the gift we gave him."_

"_I can understand your pain well Sovereign, I too have lost many friends to my immortality," she said with grief barely concealed in her own voice. "But Sovereign, I still have two more tasks for you."_

"_What more could you possibly want from us?" we yelled. "We are disjointed, we have lost our power, we can barely keep one mind working together in unison! Our one true friend can never be reunited with us again! What else is there that you would need from us? Another threat? Another dark evil waiting to feast on the souls of men? Bah! Don't treat us like some juvenile hero with a sword. We are a virus, we care not for you foolish mortals lives, the only one we'd wish to save is his and he is _gone_!"_

"_You know yourself that's not true," Fleria said. "Otherwise I would never have begged for your help the first time." We scoffed at her words, turning away from her, her radiance replaced with the cold and stark reality of deep space. If we could maintain our consciousness, we would spend the remainder of eternity in this block of nothing, frozen in space like an ice cube in a glass jar. "Sovereign, _please_. I know that this is what you'd want as well, and what he'd want."_

"_What he'd want is us by his side, not paralyzed here wasting my life."_

"_Then can you at least listen to me and reconsider? If you refuse then I promise I shall leave you alone for a while, but I will return and ask you again."_

"_Then what is it, pray do tell, that requires our attention so much?" We knew we shouldn't talk so haughtily to a Goddess, but perhaps the parts of us that were rational died in the blast. It did have the force of numerous supernovae after all._

"_I want you to help lend your strength to yet another. Just like you, darkness fills his soul. Unlike you, he committed far more heinous crimes in his past life than he'd feel he could be forgiven for. Even so, he may be one of the many Digimon who are the last hope for both worlds against the upcoming threats, some of them even rivalling Ziz... I would tell you what it is but all memory of it will leave your mind once you return, it would be a waste of breath. I want you to go back down, and lend your strength to him. Not this strength, but the strength you acquired by travelling with a tamer... By travelling with a friend..."_

"_The only way we could ever access that kind of power again is if we met _him _again, and you said that may be impossible when we first talked."_

"_That was because of your unstable nature and the untested power of that Xross Code," she said. "But now you've changed my heart. I believe in you, even if you no longer believe in yourself. Find the soul that rests deep inside you, and use it to find him. That is my second request to you, find the boy who changed your life. No tricks up my well decorated sleeves this time, it's because you deserve it." We looked at her with disbelief, then distrust._

"_We can't trust you anymore," we said. "You claimed our presence in the Digital World was a hazard on its own. Why are you accepting us now?"_

"_Because a hazard you may be, but you're the hazard that helped save it once. I believe in you Sovereign, I always have believed in you and I won't stop believing in you. I know that you can do great things, far greater than any harm you may cause."_

"_And you promise that this time, once our lifespan expires-"_

"If _your lifespan expires," Fleria corrected._

"_That you'll release us from the binds we share? That you'll separate all of us numerous minds that are linked together to be different yet the same once more? So that we won't be many Chrysalimon as a Diaboromon, but many Chrysalimon as many Chrysalimon? We will no longer share the same consciousness? Release us from this curse?"_

"_Do you truly want that Sovereign?" Fleria asked. "Is it really a curse anymore?" We thought on it, long and hard. We were grateful for the eternal patience Fleria had learnt over time, for we deliberated long and for many hours, until finally we had to make a decision._

"_Perhaps not... We have grown attached to each other, our bonds tightened and forged. We had entirely forgotten that we were once separate until now. No, that won't matter. Just promise me that once our next life is over, the one after that will not be under your boot. If it is, we will spit on that same boot with acid between our teeth." Fleria nodded her head, relief washing over her face._

"_Yes, I can agree to that. I know that even if I needed you again, you wouldn't heed my call, but you would do the right thing anyway, whether it is of my design or not."_

"_And another promise. Promise me that if we go back down to the Digital World, that I'll be able to meet that lady again... You can pull all the strings you want for that one, just let me talk to her again, spend time that I never got the chance to spend before..."_

"_That also I can agree to. I shall do everything in my power to reunite you. Thank you Sovereign." We nodded our head. We felt the tug on our data as the Digital World beckoned us once more._

"_Just one question Fleria," we asked. "This time, what Digimon will I return as?"_

"_Ah yes, you won't become Diaboromon ever again," Fleria said. We sighed in relief. "This time, I don't even have an idea. Just know you belong to the species of dragon. Go, make him proud." Before I could feel where the portal to the Digital World was, I held up a largely disintegrated green and red claw._

"_Wait, Fleria, do not push us back into the Digital World. We can find it ourselves." Fleria raised her eyebrows in surprise._

"_Here in space? How?" We smiled, a true smile for once._

"_We just have to follow his heart; and his heart points to the Digital World. Take care Fleria, but we were serious when we said we wouldn't heed to your orders anymore."_

"_I understand, take care, Sovereign." With a monumental effort that nearly killed us again, we moved up, a portal to the Digital World painting itself against the space backdrop. We smiled as we felt our form condense, our minds pack together to work as one yet again. _I smiled as I felt the horrid features of my body shrink down to once they once were. I smiled for real now. **"Wait for me partner! I hope you can hear this all the way down on earth, I'll always be your partner, don't give up on me so easily! We're going on another adventure, and we're gonna change the face of the entire Digital World!"**

**Okay, so tell me what you think and stuff, whether you like it, don't like it, constructive critisicm PLEASE! etcetera. And here's the template for tamers and the likes.**

**Name:**

**Age:**

**Eye Colour: (You can be creative with this one if you want. Nobody's holding you back.)**

**Hair Colour/style: (It's your OC, do what you want with this)**

**Appearance: (Height, weight, upper body clothes, lower body clothes, shoes included)**

**Optional: (hats, goggles, medallions, funky scars, yadayadayada...)**

**Personality: (Please do give this one in. I'm a writer, not a mind reader. If they have no personality written down here, then you've got no character)**

**Biography/History: (This makes my job easier, seeing where they come from, their tragic or not so tragic back stories, what they did and all.)**

**Additional: (Cram in as much extra stuff or as little extra stuff as you like, but preferably the former. This is where you put weird traits or habits, something odd about them, strategies spirit evolutions or whatever. Please though, I do not accept Mary Sues/Gary Stus. If for some odd reason they can blow up planets by clicking their fingers and then Beast evolve to Megidramon X20 Burst Mode then we have a very serious problem... Fight the Mary Sue!)**

**Digimon Partner: (If it's an OC Digimon, use the template below this one for each OC form)**

**Partner name: (if any specified.)**

**Evo line: (Example: Agumon—Greymon—MetalGreymon—WarGreymon—Burst Mode VictoryGreymon. From WarGreymon can slide Digivolve to ZekeGreymon.**

**If they have a Xros Loader/ Fusion Loader though, here's an example of a Xros chart-thing I made so you can lay out your own:**

**Shoutmon evo: Shoutmon—Growlmon—OmegaShoutmon**

**Wargreymon evo: Agumon—Greymon—MetalGreymon—WarGreymon**

**MetalGarurumon evo: Gabumon—Dorulumon—JagerDorulumon—MetalGarurumon**

**Veemon evo: Veemon—Veedramon—AeroVeedramon**

**DigiXros forms:**

**Shoutmon **** Veemon=Flamedramon**

**WarGreymon **** MetalGarurumon= DeltaGreymon**

**DeltaGreymon **** OmegaShoutmon **** AeroVeedramon=Omnimon**

**Something like that. Then describe the OC Digis later.)**

**Partner age:**

**Personality:**

**Optional: (medallions, scarves, clothes if it wears any for some odd reason...)**

**Biography/History: (optional, only if you want to)**

**Additional/special attacks:**

**Additional/special attack: (yes I put that twice. Extra info can go in one additional box, but special attacks start to become messy and unreadable. One line, one attack.)**

**OC Digis...**

**Name:**

**Family: (Virus busters, Nature Spirits, etc)**

**Attribute: (Data, Virus, Vaccine, Unknown)**

**Level: (Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, Mega. With Xross Wars Digimon I can approximate)**

**Special attacks:**

**Special attack: (One line, one attack.)**

**Wow, that was much longer than I had expected! Well, enjoy yourselves, and if this chapter seemed too gritty for you or whatever, you might prefer the next one. After all, this **_**is **_**just the prologue.**


	2. Partner

**Alright! Let's get this show on the road! I don't own Digimon, etc. Thanks for the OC submissions, though they'll likely appear next chapter as now I'm just introducing the main characters and the like. Hope you enjoy!**

**This is the Real Deal presents:**

**This is Spirit: Ghosts of the Past!**

**Chapter 1: Partner**

The school bell rang sharply, the sound echoing through the school hall. Emily raised her head up at the clock, surprised that school was already over. She was in no mood to stay in class either, but she hadn't finished getting down the notes on the board. She scribbled furiously in her notebook as everyone left the classroom frantically, gathering their stuff and leaving, all the while chatting animatedly to each other. Heavy footsteps echoed towards her.

"Emily, class is dismissed. You can go now."

"I'm nearly done Mr. Izzit," Emily said as she scribbled the last of the notes on the board down.

"You know, if you stayed awake in class you'd be able to get more written down..."

"I know, I'm sorry! I'll try not to fall asleep next time!" _It's not like anybody can help it, _Emily thought to herself. She was probably the only person who paid attention during his lessons, and even then it was a struggle. She packed up all her books and left the classroom, not making eye contact with the teacher, or anyone for that matter. She slipped into the crowd as she walked through the hall, not looking at anyone in the eyes. She didn't really need to try very hard not to get noticed, she didn't really attract a lot of attention in the first place. Someone's shoulder smashed into her, nearly knocking her over. Her square rimmed glasses fell, clattering on the floor. She crouched to pick them back up again quietly, not even asking for a deserved apology. They probably hadn't even noticed she was there. Emily lowered her head once she stood back up, focusing her eyes on the floor ahead of her. Her whole body seemingly shrunk within itself, as if trying to become invisible. She adjusted her square glasses which sat askew on her nose. Silently, she slipped out of the crowd and out of the school, letting out a deep breath of relief. She'd had enough school for one week, and with Saturday just around the corner she could finally stop to catch her breath. Of course, her weekend was probably going to be wasted anyway, but at least she could relax.

Emily unhitched her bike from its rack and turned to leave. The trip back home was just as uneventful as ever, the small town flying past her without incident. Emily thought to herself about what she would do when she got home.

_Probably nothing, _she thought to herself. _I'll just waste my afternoon watching some really old anime or something, maybe some videogames. If I'm lucky, I might actually be able to update some of my fan fiction stories... _The air around her began clouding up with a thick mist, but Emily's mind was too preoccupied on other things to even notice. Rock music was playing itself in Emily's head as she thought of new ways to construct her scenes through words. There were times when she wished she could just show her mind to people, or at least draw and animate her work so it could be seen.

"Hey Em! Em! Wait up!" someone called out behind her. Emily looked behind her. A boy with a mess of orange hair and a pair of goggles ran up to her. He wore a red shirt with an orange sun emblazoned on it. He wore blue denim shorts and his red rimmed goggles sat naturally on his forehead as if they were made for him and him alone. He was sprinting hard, heavily keeping up with her bike. Emily had long since stopped questioning where he got his energy from, so it was no surprise to her when she saw him running full steam ahead, and then finally right next to her, while she was still riding on her bike.

"Sam, calm down about. What's wrong?" she asked. She stopped her bike so that he could catch his breath for a moment.

"Nothings... Wrong... At... All," he huffed. "I was just trying to stop you from being such a loner, as usual!"

"Hey, I am _not _a loner!" Emily retorted angrily. "So I'm not exactly sociable, at least I'm not hiding behind you every time someone comes to talk to me!"

"Whatever you say, but I still have my mission and I'm not about to give up on it," Sam said with a smile. "And you said you needed help trying to get through your writer's block phase didn't you? Do you have your laptop with you?" Emily patted her school bag affirmatively. "Good. Let's go to Benny's Ice Cream place and brainstorm ideas there. You always think better when you're eating something with chocolate in it." Emily looked back in the direction she was going. Her house was just there, it would be a waste of energy to have to go all the way in the opposite direction. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine then, but I'm not cycling there, we'll take a bus. Not everyone's as energetic as you are!"

The pair arrived at the small restaurant, customers coming in droves during the Friday afternoon. They walked up to the counter, spare change jingling in Emily's pockets, each clang of metal serving as a reminder that this one meal would cost her all the money she had left on her. They made their orders, Sam going for a vanilla while Emily ordered a triple scooped extra large chocolate with a wafer. She could feel the calories building up just from grabbing the cone, but her super high metabolism wouldn't allow her to get fat, a fact she was eternally grateful for considering how much chocolate she ate. The clerk punched in a few numbers into the cash register. He frowned, pushing a few more buttons rapidly. Emily saw a small blue spark of electricity flash on the cash register.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him.

"It's just cash register, its acting strange," he said in frustration. "Sorry about this, this is new and everything. Don't worry too much about it; you come here all the time anyway so as long as I've got the money you shouldn't need to wait for a receipt. I never was good with gadgets, the state of my phone is proof of that..." As if on cue, the light bulb burst, the explosion startling the two of them as bits of glass fell from the ceiling. The remaining lights all flashed rapidly, customers backing away worriedly. As if things weren't bad enough already, a scream was heard behind the door leading to the kitchen, followed by the sound of a fire extinguisher. The teenager behind the till grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall to his left and sprinted into the kitchen himself, trying to put out the fire that had randomly started on the cooker. Emily backed away nervously. Without even thinking about it, Sam grabbed her hand and led her out of the story at a fast pace.

"I guess this isn't the best time for ice cream is it?" Sam said. The two of them ran onto the car park hurriedly. Emily looked over her shoulder at the store behind her. Large arcs of electricity were now winding their way around the building. And it wasn't the store either. A wave of sound barraged her ears as every single car alarm on the complex went off, the discord of bells, screeches and whistles almost too much to stand. Electricity sparked around these vehicles as well, and all along the street lights to.

"Sam, what's going on?" Emily yelled, her voice drowned out by the background noise. It was pointless asking. Even if he did hear, he wouldn't know a thing. They ran until the sound of the alarms was in the background. They stopped in the middle of the nearby park, trees surrounding them and soft grass beneath their feet. They stopped momentarily to catch their breath. "What the heck was that? Some kinda weird power surge?"

"I dunno, but it looked pretty cool didn't it? I mean, we were just chilling there when suddenly BOOM! A bulb blows up, then something else sparks up crazily, then- My ice cream!"

"Huh? What do you..." Emily looked towards her left hand. All that was in it was an empty cone. In their haste, they'd completely forgotten about it. "Aw come on!"

"And that was the last of my pocket money... Hey Em, do you think that..." Emily blocked out what he was saying for a while, focusing on her surroundings. The mist was coming back, and this time she was paying attention to it.

"Sam, we have bigger problems than our empty stomachs right now..."

"Heh? Like what?"

"Does that answer your question?" Emily said, pointing in front of her. Sam followed her gaze. His eyebrows shot up in alarm. A large shadow was on the ground in front of them, but there was nothing there to cast it. Even more disturbing, it looked like it was growing larger with each passing second. They both slowly took steps away from it as, believe it or not, it began rising off of the ground, a pair of black clothed arms becoming visible from it. The shadow grew taller and taller until it towered over them, nine feet of darkness stood before them. Colour started showing on the creature now. It looked almost human, if it weren't for the stretched figure and disproportionately long arms. The right arm had red claws and a pair of black horns poked out of his head. He was covered by a black bodysuit, and his face was hidden by a black mask. A red bat-like mark was emblazoned on his chest and left boot, and a skull design was also on his left shoulder and right knee. The man's red eyes looked around him for a bit before stopping on the two of them. Emily felt her heart freeze over in fear as she looked at its eyes.

"Hmm... Your heart... I like the colour of your heart..." the man said, if he truly was a man. He looked far more like some kind of demon than a human, and coming out of shadows certainly wasn't something that humans were said to be able to do in her Biology classes. She could barely move, frozen to the spot in fear. Sam stared back with disbelief, then with anger.

"What do you want with us?" Sam asked, instantly assuming the creature wanted his skills. It looked at Sam much more distastefully.

"Your heart though... It's far too bright for me... but that strength might be what I've been looking for all this time. Human! Become my tamer! I am Devimon, a name you had better remember well. Make me have the power to digivolve, give me your strength so that I can become the most powerful digimon in existence!"

"Digimon?" Sam asked.

"Oh yes, you must be of the younger generation. You can't remember anything of the D-Reaper incident can you?"

"The weird attack on the entire planet?" Emily offered. "Nobody was really sure what that was about. Was that done by 'Digimon'?"

"It matters not. I need you to become my tamer, so that together we may rule the world!" Emily looked at Sam, fear plain in her eyes. He didn't seem to notice, too engrossed in the situation.

"What makes you think I'd help you? You look like you'd rather eat me than let me rule with you. Not to mention that you just plain look creepy!"

"Sam, what're you doing?!" Emily yelled. "Do you see that thing? That's the kind of stuff you see in an anime, you don't wanna fight him!"

"Please, he's just a big bully, what's the worst that can happen?" The man roared in anger, a huge pair of black bat wings sprouting from his back. He charged at the pair enraged, his claws outstretched towards their throats. Emily shut her eyes, not willing to see her own demise just yet. The sound of glass shattering broke over their heads.

A green layer of what looked like a gigantic holographic computer chip opened up in the sky above them. A red flash shone as if a lightning bolt, and in the next moment the monster was down, flames licking his body. The red flash bounced a few times before stopping next to Emily. The flames surrounding it died down. Emily's eyes widened in shock.

"What the hell are you two?!" she screamed. The creature in front of her turned around, a pair of yellow eyes glowing behind his mask. At first glance it looked like a small child in fencing gear, with an odd fencing helmet with horn accessories and sleeves far too long for it so that his arms were covered. He also wore standard armour for the rest of his upper body. However, everything below the waist was far from human. Strong looking reptilian blue scaled legs supported the monster, and a tail with spiked ridges on it was visible as well. The claws on its feet didn't look particularly sharp but Emily didn't want to take any chances. A large pair of yellow eyes were visible behind the mask but that was it. The rest of his face was completely hidden. Something told Emily that those horn accessories weren't actually accessories after all... It held a bamboo kendo stick in its hands, the grip seeming hard with the sleeves in the way.

The digimon if that's what it was looked at Emily, its expression unreadable. The large demon roared in anger at the new arrival.

"You followed me all the way here? What's wrong with you?" Devimon growled. "Get out of my way, these humans are my ticket to power! I would've thought that somebody with a heart that yearns for power like yours would understand... But no matter! I'll obliterate you, and if that boy refuses to accept my demands I'll obliterate the girl to!"

"As if I'd ever let you do that!" Sam yelled. Both he and the fencer charged towards Devimon. Devimon held out his hand in front of himself, a stream of bats shooting out of them. The bats all attacked the pair of them, Sam futilely trying to swat them away while the fencer struck at them with his sword. Emily looked around her for an escape. They were still surrounded by the fog. If they ran now, there was no way that monster would be able to track them down.

"Sam, we've got to get out of here, now!" she yelled. "You can leave this guy to the fencer!"

"I know, but there's no way that thing can hold off this guy for more than a few seconds," Sam whispered. "I'll help out the fencer while you escape and get help. Clear?"

"No! You'll both be killed!"

"Please, I'm a ninja! There's no way I'd lose!"

"Are you done conspiring now?" Devimon asked. "Now to kill you all with my fearsome **Death Hand attack!**" Devimon held both of his hands up, a ball of suspicious looking dark energy forming in them. Intense pressure weighed down on Emily's shoulders just by looking at it, and the stench of rotting flesh hung heavy in the air. The fencer's eyes widened in surprise as it formed before he gripped his kendo stick angrily. The sphere of energy in Devimon's hands blasted out, heat building up rapidly as the fencer took the full force of the blow. An explosion boomed, shockwaves rippling through the air. Sam and Emily covered their eyes, dust blowing into them. Emily opened them again slowly, bracing herself for what she'd see. Her eyes widened in horror. The fencer was lying on the ground, smoke coming off of his charred and blackened body. One of his horns had a large crack going through it. Emily winced herself, the pain the fencer was in evident. Sam managed to escape most of the blast, and was running back to Emily while the smoke was still clearing.

"Alright! Now's our chance, let's get outta here!" he yelled, his courage from earlier immediately gone now that they'd escaped immediate danger. Emily didn't need to be told twice, taking a few steps to leave. She glanced back over her shoulder. Devimon was laughing maniacally, another blast charging between his hands while the fencer struggled to stand up after such an impact. Emily knew which way she needed to go, as far away from the fight as possible. But something inside her just wouldn't let her budge. Her feet remained firmly rooted to the ground. Something inside her was just telling her...

"Sam, I can't turn my back on that guy!" she yelled. Sam's jaw dropped as he pointed weakly at Devimon. "Not him, the smaller guy on the floor! He looks hurt, and if we don't help him now he might even _die_!"

"What does it matter to us? It's a _monster_! I've had my fun and I've seen that both of them are way too strong for a human to get themselves involved in. Leave this to the professionals!"

"If we wait any longer then he won't survive. He might not have been trying to, but that little guy saved our lives! I'll at least pay him back for the favour!"

"Wait! Emily!" Sam reached out to grab her, but she was already gone. Emily mentally kicked herself in the shin for being so stupid. This wasn't like her. This was uncharacteristic. What kind of person risked their life for a monster, and to make matters worse, one they'd never seen before? But there was no denying it now. She was running, the pounding of her feet on gravel, her black hair shaking with each step, the gasping of her lungs with each breath was proof of that. Devimon laughed, letting out a stream of dark energy from his hands. Emily leaped towards the fencer, her arms outstretched in front of her. A flash of light covered the park, blinding Emily completely. She landed on the ground with a thud, the astonished monster clutched tightly in her arms, her body used as a shield. Emily's glasses clattered on the floor away from her, the lenses shattered.

"Aw man, that pair was expensive to!" Emily whined. The fencer looked at her in surprise as the dust cleared, then behind at where he was standing at first. A large black smouldering crater was in that exact spot. Neither of them needed to think very hard about what would've happened if they'd stayed there a second longer.

"You... saved me," the fencer said under his breath, barely audible.

"Huh? Uh... yeah, I guess I did," Emily said, looking at the crater with a distant look. _What in the world was I thinking? Was I trying to die? _"Uh, hey! We should probably get up round about now... My name's Emily if it's not too late to introduce myself."

"I'm Kotemon," he replied, again barely speaking above a whisper. "I'm sorry about all this trouble I'm causing you, so I want you to leave before you get hurt." Kotemon stood back up, clutching his sword tightly. "Devimon and I have a grudge match to finish..."

"But you'll never be able to win with those injuries!" Emily yelled. Devimon flew back down towards Kotemon, razor sharp claws outstretched. Kotemon leaped up towards him with his bamboo sword. They clashed, Kotemon getting sent right back down to the ground, his body flickering like a ghost, or more like computer data when Emily thought about it. "Kotemon!" Kotemon stood back up, coughing heavily.

"Ha! You can never defeat me with such pitiful power!" Devimon said. "Give up now you mongrel! Third-rate Digimon scum like you have no right to walk the face of the digital world, this world, or the next world!" Emily ran over to Kotemon, pulling out a first aid kit from her bag. Kotemon held up his hand, stopping her.

"No... This is my fight... I can't involve you humans now... This is a matter of pride...Get back, Emily!"

"You weakling!" Devimon taunted. "You coward! You pathetic excuse for Data! Why can't you just die already? You don't deserve to even touch my feet!" Emily clenched her fists tightly, rage boiling deep inside her. Her fists shook from how tightly she clutched them, blood dripping down her fingers as her nails pierced her palm.

"You're wrong..." Emily said quietly, her anger like the calm before a storm. Devimon hesitated, feeling the all too familiar presence of dark power beneath her voice. Even Sam froze for a moment.

"Emily... Are you alright?"

"You're wrong," Emily repeated. "Kotemon is _not _weak. He's not a coward either. He has more right to walk on this world than you do!" Her rage exploded, a vein pulsing angrily on her temples. "I don't know why you hate him so much, but he's been fighting honourably this whole time with everything he has! All you've done is say snide remarks and try and tempt Sam to join you! You're the cowardly one here, floating up in the sky where nobody can harm you like you're some kind of king!"

"Compared to that insect, I might as well be a god!" Devimon laughed.

"Then if it's like that... We'll end your day's right here and now!" Emily screamed. Light shone from the pair on the ground, blinding white light enveloping the whole park before dying down, focusing on Emily's wrist. The light died down, revealing a large looking wristwatch on Emily's arm. It was black and bulky looking, with a sky blue ring around the square digital face in the middle. The ring contained odd looking characters and symbols. Three blue buttons were on one side of the watch face with three more on the other side. A small curved extension came out of the watch towards Emily's body. Kotemon's eyes widened in surprise as he saw it form, while Devimon openly yelled "What?!" in confusion.

"Emily... Do you know what that is?" Kotemon said quietly.

"Speak up! I can barely hear you!"

"Do you know what... never mind that, that thing on your arm is a Digivice!" Kotemon said with a bit more volume. "That kind of item indicates that whoever has it is a tamer with a digimon partner." Emily looked at her new Digivice, an image of Kotemon appearing on it.

**Kotemon**

**Level: Rookie**

**Type: Reptile**

**Family: Nature Spirits, Dragon's Roar**

**Attacks: Fire Men, Thunder Kote**

**A training samurai digimon...**

Emily didn't bother reading or listening to the rest of the information. She already knew what to do.

"So I'm guessing this is one of those things like Bakugan or Dinosaur King where I'm the tactician and you're the fighter right?" Kotemon nodded his head. "Alright then! Let's do this!" Kotemon began glowing with energy, Emily's Digivice scanning him with a red laser light, repairing all of his damage. "Kotemon, you're a swordsman aren't you?" Kotemon nodded his head, his eyes narrowed in determination, fire almost visible burning around them. "Then here's a hint from my lessons on the sword. The best time to attack another swordsman (or clawsman...) is right before they attack!" Devimon began charging up the Dark Hand again, this time the blast becoming bigger than his whole body.

"I will not tolerate a tamer who isn't partnered with me! I'll annihilate you both!" Emily's Digivice began glowing with power, a bright aura surrounding them both.

"**Now is the time! Roast this evil being with your fighting spirit Kotemon!" **Emily screamed, her previous reserved nature completely evaporated from determination. Even Sam was stunned, barely recognizing her for who she used to be. Kotemon leaped into the air, his sword covered by massive blue and red flames.

"**Death Ha..." **Kotemon slashed his sword through the blast just before it could be fired, a mass of dark energy filling the area.

"Too slow too slow too slow too slow!" Emily and Kotemon yelled together. Kotemon turned around in mid-air, his sword filling with even more power. Devimon gasped in surprise, seeing the rookie Digimon behind him. It had a completely different energy signature than before.

_Is this even the same Digimon as before? So this is the power a tamer and Digimon have, and this is before it's even developed and hardened. This is before they've even become _friends_..._

"**Fire Men!" **Kotemon yelled, swinging his sword down on Devimon's head. Devimon's unearthly screams filled the park as he disintegrated into tiny particles, yellow light flittering into the air. The fog bank lifted, and it sounded like all of the car alarms in the background had turned off. Kotemon landed on the floor, slashing his kendo stick through the air with a flourish. Sam ran towards them energetically.

"Whoa! What was that?!" Sam yelled, a glint in his eyes. "It's like you weren't even the same person! You were filled with confidence and energy and... You, got, _angry! _I've never seen you get mad in my life! You were totally awesome! Especially that last line... **'Roast this evil being with your fighting spirit!' **Legendary!"

"Hey, I wasn't that cool, it was all Kotemon. I just told him when to attack and healed his injuries."

"Yeah, Kotemon was epic as well! Did you see yourself?" he said, talking to him now. "Where did you learn to fight like that? Or was it natural fighting strength? Your sword... Your sword is awesome you know! How does it not burn up like that? Well, it's decided! I'm gonna get myself a Digivice to! And a digimon partner! I'll become a superstar and conquer the world! I'll become..." Emily and Kotemon both turned to face each other while Sam kept ranting.

"I've got a _lot _of questions for you, you know that right?" Kotemon shrugged his shoulders, eyeing Sam oddly as he jumped around enthusiastically. "I'm guessing that now that I've got this thing on my arm we're stuck together aren't we?" Kotemon nodded his head. "Well, I guess it'll be fun. Let's get to know each other then. Hopefully we can be friends, right?" Emily extended her hand. Kotemon looked at it for a few seconds, his expression as unreadable as ever.

"Right," he replied softly, grasping her hand. "Let's do that... Partner..."


	3. Monsters Walk Among Us

**WHROOAAARR! Feel pumped up to the MAXIMUM! I think I've hit my limit for submitted OCs that are main character-like so that's about it. Anymore probably won't appear so much or be main characters... Or I'll just explode trying to get them on paper so that's probably it. Who knows. Well, here goes nothing!**

**This is the Real Deal Presents:**

**This is Spirit: Ghosts of the Past!**

**Allison Radium and AxeHounmon belong to Pandamonium. Ryuga Tategami and Yami Tategami belong to ShadowLDrago, though they'll probably appear more near the end... Next chapter!**

**Chapter 2: Monsters walk among us**

"So, let me get this straight," Emily said, rubbing her temples in thought. The fact that everything she looked at was blurry after losing her glasses didn't help matters at all. "You come from another world alongside this one called the 'digital world,' and the people that live in your world are called 'digimon' right?" Kotemon nodded his head. "And that because of this watch thing I've got, I'm now partnered up with you, possibly for life, trying to make sure no other Digimon go trigger happy in the human world and destroy everything, right?" Kotemon nodded again happily, grateful that a human understood him so quickly without screaming in terror at him or calling him a monster. "Wow... That sounds like something out of a Monster Rancher game. You expect me to swallow this so easily?" Kotemon hung his head in disappointment.

"Hey come on, this might actually be fun!" Sam yelled excitedly. "I mean, come on, look at the guy! He's totally awesome! He's got a sword that can catch fire, he's way stronger than most humans I know, and he can protect you! It's a win-win situation!"

"But I can't just take in a monster into my house!" Emily yelled. "No offense Kotemon." Kotemon closed his eyes with a happy expression. He didn't seem to mind in the slightest. "You know, for a walking lizard dressed as a samurai, you sure don't talk much. Well, I guess you're better than having a little brother or sister."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Sam said exasperatedly. "You're just lucky you're the youngest in the family. I have to try and be the responsible older brother all the time..."

"Clearly you don't do a very good job of it," Emily said snidely. "Anyway, sorry Kotemon, but I don't know how I can keep you at my place. Just keeping a pet dog is a no-go with my parents, taking you in is like telling them I found a new baby brother to take in. One with a tail to make things worse. They'd freak!"

The group were all in Emily's room now. Her parents weren't at home at the time so they didn't have to worry about sneaking Kotemon into the house and then upstairs. Her room was not exactly what you'd expect from a girl. Her door had a large _Keep out: Gaming Zone _poster plastered to it, with something along the lines of _'only Zombie slaying, car racing, level grinding, monster training, alien zapping, dragon slaying... gaming heroes allowed inside'_. There was a large Linkin Park poster on the wall over her bed as well. Her wall was painted sky blue and her dressing table had a pretty small assortment of makeup among other things such as loose papers covered with rushed anime-styled drawings. The duvet covering her blanket had the words _Never Give Up _printed on them, her clothes on top of that. A desk was next to it with few game CDs stacked on top of one another. It almost looked like a boy's room, but everything seemed too orderly, not clean at all, but orderly.

"Whatever you say Emily," Sam said smugly. "But at the end of the day, you're still the one wearing the Digivice, so you've got to take some responsibility here. Kotemon can't stay with anybody but you." Emily frowned, folding her arms over in annoyance.

"Fine then, why don't we ask for Kotemon's opinion on this?" Both of them turned to Kotemon questionably. "Who do you think it would be better to stay with? Me, who's mom might kick you out at any moment, or Sam?" Kotemon looked between the two of them nervously, not sure what to answer. He just barely whispered something under his breath. Emily and Sam both leaned closer to listen. "Speak up already! Who?"

"My opinion on this is... That I'm hungry!" Kotemon said. Emily sighed.

"Well, I guess it's only natural after that whole incident. Well, I guess I'm not escaping this one. I'll try and keep you a secret from my mom for a while so when she arrives you have to stay low. I'll just go downstairs and make some noodles for you or something like that. You can eat human food right?" Kotemon shrugged his shoulders. Emily was tempted to ask where his mouth even was, but something told her that maybe, just maybe, she didn't want to know.

Emily trooped downstairs, almost tripping on them twice without her glasses, and with nearly no skill involved, popped some two-minute noodles in the microwave. She'd memorized most of the house and had a good idea where everything was so she at least knew she wasn't going to accidentally burn down the house. She returned upstairs again with a tray with three bowls of noodles on it. Sam had already opened up Emily's laptop by now and was playing a racing game. It didn't look like he was winning, seeing as he was in fifth place. Kotemon was holding a book titled _Eragon_, staring at the cover with enough intensity to burn holes through it. They both spied Emily at the same time, paused for a few seconds, and then charged towards the food, yanking bowls out of her grasp. Emily tried desperately to balance herself before she collapsed on her rump. Unlike Sam, Kotemon stopped and turned around, apologizing quickly, then thanking her for the food, before apologising again. Emily peered at him curiously before standing back up again.

"At least _some _people have manners," Emily said glaring at Sam.

"But the noodles taste better when you make them!" Sam said through a mouthful of noodles. Kotemon stood up almost silently, holding his bowl in his hand. Even the yellow lights in his eyes had somehow dimmed behind his mask. Emily looked at him with worry.

"What's wrong Kotemon?"

"Human food... Tastes..." Kotemon stayed silent again, a grim atmosphere around him. Then, all at once, his eyes lit up, sparkling with tears of joy behind them. "Human food tastes so good!" He yelled, holding up an empty bowl. Emily laughed.

"Well, if you think that food is good, you've still got a lot of treats to taste! Well, I guess I've got no choice then. Until I can find out how to get you back to the Digital World, this will have to do. Better make yourself at home then, don't worry about a thing. In the meantime, I'll be worrying about what to do about my broken glasses..."

"Come on Em, they can't be _that _bad!"

"Yes they are!" Emily cried from behind a firmly shut door.

"Okay, so they're not exactly the _best _but at least you can see with them. It's only until a replacement for your old ones can come in, right?"

"You don't know how bad these are... The first two period were the most awkward moments in my _life! _The glares and the looks and the snickers and chuckles..."

"Well you can't hide in the locker room forever you know! We still have more classes after this!" Emily audibly sighed before opening the steel door. Sam took one look at her face and had to cover his face to stifle the laughter leaking through his lips. Emily glared at him angrily, rage boiling behind her eyes. "Okay, so they _might _look a little funny but nobody's going to laugh for much more than two minutes..."

"You too?! You jerk, you're supposed to be supportive!" Emily screamed. Placed on the bridge of her nose were a pair of incredibly large round glasses, echoing Harry Potter all over them. It was no wonder the whole morning had been so terrible for her. Emily stamped her foot angrily and marched away, leaving Sam behind.

"Wait, no, Emily I've calmed down now! I'm sorry, that wasn't really a nice thing to do I guess, come on! Emily?" Emily didn't bother listening to him, but instead kept going straight. She knew she was acting childish; after all, they were just glasses. Even so she kept going, turned a corner, and kept walking even faster still with people now around, making sure to keep her head down so nobody would notice the glasses.

"Hey, did you hear about the ghost that's been lurking in that old mansion?" a girl said. Emily slowed down her pace to a halt, listening in on the conversation. Of course eavesdropping was rude but ghost stories always piqued her attention. There were a group of girls huddled together in a group, talking animatedly. Perfect for catching snippets of gossip, though Emily didn't really care for that kind of info.

"What, the one just down the street from where I live?" a blonde haired girl asked.

"Yup," the first brown haired girl replied. "I heard that it takes peoples stuff from them with cold clammy dead hands. Who knows what it does with their things from then... Ben said he was gonna try and spend the night inside the place cause he doesn't believe in ghosts."

"I think he's stupid," a third girl with braces said. "Ghost or no ghost, who would want to sleep in a place like _that?_"

"I dunno guys, I think it might actually be real," a fourth speaker said, this one seeming slightly more timid than the rest, clutching her books closely to her chest. "I saw it myself last night..."

"You SAW it?!" the others exclaimed. The shy girl nodded her head.

"It was creepy, it looked a bit like a dog but not one I'd ever seen. It had a freaky shaped head, sorta like an axe, and its mouth... It was almost like it was smiling at me. It was big to, but I didn't get to see the rest of it when it ran. There was this creepy unnatural mist, and it was only in one area to..."

"No way, if it was a ghost how could you have seen it?" somebody said.

"Well I saw it and it wasn't a stray dog either. Whatever it was, it was lurking around outside that place so it must've been that." Sam caught up to Emily just then.

"Come on Em, they're not really _that _bad..."

"Forget about the glasses for a second," Emily said. "You've heard about the ghost right?"

"What, the ghost thief thing? What of it?"

"Well people are saying a heavy mist settles when it appears. That's exactly what happened with Devimon. Do you think it's related to Kotemon appearing?"

"Only one way to find out now isn't there?" Sam said with a slight smile, adjusting the goggles on his forehead. "We just have to go in there and check what's what. If things get nasty, we kick butt!"

Emily slowly opened the door, the hinges creaking ominously as she pushed it open. Kotemon jumped in with no caution at all, holding his practice sword up cautiously. He scanned the room for danger. It didn't really look like anything special at all. All the furniture in the living room was draped in darkness, obscured from vision and distorted, twisted into strange shapes if you let your imagination run ahead of you. A large flight of stairs was directly in front of him and a mysterious breeze blew through the cracked and blackened windows. The drapes were torn and shredded as if from a pair of razor sharp claws. Odd stains were on the walls and it didn't take a genius to guess what colour they were. The house was said to be haunted for a reason. Kotemon turned around to face Emily and Sam outside and nodded his head. The pair entered the house and looked around them cautiously. Emily held a notepad in her hand and a camera strapped to her neck while Sam had a huge grin plastered to his face.

"The spirit of adventure! Just put some energy into it and no ghost can hurt you!" Sam yelled energetically. Emily looked around nervously, taking flashing pictures of her surroundings.

"I might be able to use this as a reference in a story," she mumbled to herself quietly. She shook her head, snapping herself out of her thoughts. "That's not important. Kotemon, you're a Digimon aren't you? You're also a lizard guy right? Well some reptiles like snakes can sort of 'taste' the air, so is there anything, uh... is there anything 'different' about the atmosphere here? Something that smells Digimon?" Kotemon closed his eyes in silent concentration. He opened them again after about ten seconds and nodded his head. He pointed up the stairs. They crept up the stairs cautiously, the floorboards creaking beneath their feet. They didn't stop even when they got to the second floor, a long and gloomy hallway stretched before them. The draughts blowing in weren't helping to calm the already cold and foreboding air. There was a constant dripping sound coming from somewhere above them, and the occasional rattling pipes as well.

A door slammed. Everyone froze. Silence. They proceeded. Emily had now stopped taking pictures, and was clutching her camera tightly. Even Sam looked a little pale, despite nothing really happening. The only one who was calm was Kotemon, walking ahead confidently, making sure there was no danger. A shadow flickered at the end of the hall, then disappeared from sight.

"Sam, remind me again why we chose to come in the middle of the night?" Emily asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

"Because if there is a Digimon, we know that it's only appearing at night. And if it _is _a ghost, then its way more fun to look at night!"

"You wanna know something? _This isn't fun!_" Emily yelled.

"Aw come on, it's kinda cool isn't it?" Sam said. Just then, the sound of clanking chains filled the air. Long low wailing was heard, accompanying the chains in a macabre melody. The already cold air seemed to freeze over, and Emily felt herself inching closer to Kotemon for protection, while Sam inched closer to her. "Ok... So it's a _bit _creepy..." Another door slammed. The windows all rattled at once, and as if brought upon by an otherworldly wrath, a heavy downpour began outside, clouds covering the already dark night sky.

"_I... want..." _a wheezing voice said slowly. A door to their right creaked open noisily. Emily's heart thumped loudly in her chest, its tempo increasing like a crazed drummer. Slowly, ever so slowly, the door creaked open wider and wider, the darkness behind the door seemingly just spreading as it opened. What look like a skeleton hand appeared around the door, fingers tapping the rotting wood. _"Your souls!"_

The hand shot out. Lightning flashed. The white ghostly streak shot past Emily's face. Laughter. Unearthly, evil, maniacal laughter.

That did it for all three of them. They screamed in unison, their feet failing them as they all scrambled on the floor, tripping and stumbling over each other. Emily's notepad and camera dropped on the floor but she didn't care in the slightest. Nobody else was stopping, why should she? A large four legged shadow shot in front of her, stopping all of them. They turned around to see the skeleton hand floating up into the air, bringing along with it from beneath the floorboards what looked like a stereotypical ghost. It looked like a ragged white sheet floating in the air, only with empty black eyes and a wide open mouth with sharp jagged teeth. Two bits of cloth stuck out as protrusions for arms. The group screamed again, clinging to eachother in fear.

"Oh stop whining already," an energetic female voice said. "Handle, take him down!" The large doglike shadow leaped over their heads, its claws tearing into the ghost aggressively. Panicked, the skeleton hand coming from beneath its cloth pushed the dog away, but already some of the ghost's fangs had been shattered. Now the shadow could be seen a bit better, Emily wished she couldn't see it. It looked wolf-like, but with purple fur and elongated. Its head was suspiciously shaped like an axe head and where its eyes would've been were simply two X's. Its fangs all looked sharp enough to tear through flesh with ease, but the two extra long vampiric fangs were what worried her. Its white tipped tail had a wooden stake sticking out of it and suspicious looking dark fabric was sewn onto its chest. What was the most disturbing thing about this creature was its mouth; it had an almost human-like grin, almost seeming forced onto it, unchanging, as if mocking the situation. A young girl slightly younger than Emily appeared next to the creature, what looked like a purple and red i-pod nano in her hand.

She didn't seemed fazed by either creatures at all. Her long silver hair was the complete opposite of Emily's messy black hair. It was smooth and shoulder length, though with a tuft sticking out the top. It was a bit harder to tell what she was wearing in the gloom but it looked like a pair of grey shorts and a silver jacket, a backpack resting on her back, flashing objects showing through an open zipper.

"Who... Are you?" Sam asked nervously." The girl didn't seem to hear him and was busy staring at the ghost.

"Bakemon heh? You're the one who's been stealing items from people, pretending to be a ghost... Well! We can't allow that can we?" Emily's Digivice started flashing brightly. Guessing it was reacting to the pair, she held it up to the wolf.

**AxeHounmon**

**Level: Rookie**

**Family: Dark Area, Nightmare Soldiers**

**Attacks: Smile Seizure, Wooden Stake**

**A wolf Digimon with vampiric data stored within itself. A subspecies of Sangloupmon, this Digimon can be incredibly dangerous to data and could even be considered a digital hazard. Little is known of this Digimon other than that if it is in a pack it is incredibly loyal due to its wolf dna.**

"Wait... The ghost was really a Digimon?" Sam asked, his previous fear disappearing and being replaced with astonishment. "Well in that case, that means we can beat him no problem!" AxeHounmon charged for the Bakemon, its cries getting cut short as it was instantly ripped in half, disintegrating into data particles. Just then, the wall opposite the group exploded outward, chains shooting out of the dust cloud and knocking into the wolf. AxeHounmon went flying out the window into the rain outside. In stepped what looked like Ghost Riders younger brother. It was a tall man a metal mask and steel jaw covering his face. His hair was completely blue with lighter blue highlights, sticking up like flames, and his large arms were wrapped in chains and covered in fire. His torso was bare but he wore a pair of black denim jeans.

"I see you removed my subordinate," the tall man said quietly, his chains clanking with each step he took. "Well I've just got to say that you've made a mistake trying to come here and interrupt our thieving gig... We were doing so well to with everyone believing we were ghosts! But now you've..." The girl wasn't even paying attention to the man, staring only at Emily's camera that Bakemon had left behind. Even in the gloom its polished metal shone.

"Wow, it shines even without the light," the girl said quietly. "I've gotta get that camera..." the girl stopped and looked out the cracked window. "Handle, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, barely laid a scratch on me," the wolf replied roughly.

"Are you even listening to me?!" the man yelled angrily.

"Not really," the girl replied. "You're a SkullMeramon aren't you? Well your high school girl robbing days are over. Handle," Right on cue, a large wooden stake shot up through the window from outside. SkullMeramon batted it away, then sent his chains out like snakes again. Kotemon batted them away with his sword, along with AxeHounmon who leaped through the window again, the wooden stake in his tail missing. The two struck at the chains furiously.

"I don't have time for this," SkullMeramon said with annoyance. He opened his mouth wide. "**Heavy Metal Fire!**" he screamed, blue flames shooting out of his mouth. AxeHounmon jumped towards the girl, pushing her out of the way. The blue flames covered the whole hallway, pretty much everything catching fire immediately. Flames engulfed the walls, pictures and rotted tables burning, all of which were once treasured possessions to someone somewhere in the past. Kotemon couldn't do anything but brace himself for the flames, the fire covering his body, burning his flesh. The heat was already roasting the very hairs off of Emily's eyebrows. She felt a strong hand grab hers, running back towards the stairs.

"Come on, this way," Sam said as he took her back towards the stairs. Their escape didn't last for long as another SkullMeramon with green hair suddenly appeared in front of them, AxeHounmon still recovering from the fire.

"Where do you think you're going?" he snarled, everything around him catching fire. Kotemon jumped towards him, his kendo stick wrapped in flames.

"**Fire Kote!**" he called, striking at SkullMeramon's wrists. His chains all wound around his right arm, Kotemon's blow striking against steel instead of flesh as he guarded himself with the chains. The enemy Digimon laughed, punching Kotemon in the stomach, sending him flying through the air and into a wall, the whole wall collapsing in on itself as he fell through.

"No way, he knocked Kotemon back in one go..."

"Hehe, now do you see? You cannot hope to defeat me! I'm not satisfied with merely taking your possessions anymore... I want your very lives to pay for you taking my partner in crime from me!"

"Kotemon, get up!" Emily called, her Digivice glowing with energy. SkullMeramon didn't even hesitate, rushing straight for her. He grabbed her by the neck, the flames from his arms burning ridiculously close to her face.

"Emily!" Sam screamed, charging for SkullMeramon. He simply put his fist up, preparing to meet him. Before Sam could even touch him, SkullMeramon flicked his finger outwards, bowling Sam over with just one finger, fire burning around him.

"This can't... End like this..." Sam said, struggling to get up. He quickly got knocked back down to the ground again, his leg twisted at an awkward angle on the floor.

"Useless... Humans are so useless..." SkullMeramon opened his mouth, blue flames burning inside it.

"**Heavy Metal...**" A large table leg lodged itself in SkullMeramon's mouth, fire burning around and behind the stick instead of bursting out and killing them all. SkullMeramon turned to the source of the table leg, chomping down on it with ease. As soon as his head was tilted he received a colossal punch to his jaw, falling over from the impact. Sam rubbed his sore fist in pain, trying his best to ignore the bleeding.

"I won't let you lay a single hair on Emily!" he yelled. "If you do, Digimon or no Digimon, I will defeat you!"

"Well spoken brother!" a different, higher pitched and yet still male voice said. A yellow streak shot through the air, crashing into SkullMeramon, knocking him to the ground. What looked like a yellow floating star with a jagged mouth and a pair of sunglasses appeared before him.

"What in the world are you?" Sam asked in shock. The star looked back at him, his eyes obscured by his sunglasses.

"I'm a Starmon! A Digimon that's gonna become a superstar! I'm a weaker variant but together with the Pickmons we're gonna make it big!" As he said that, what looked like a swarm of smaller silver Starmon's appeared. Actually, these were shaped more like large guitar picks, also with the sunglasses than stars.

**Starmon**

**Level: Rookie (Champion with Pickmons)**

**Family: Unknown**

**Attacks: Meteor Squall**

**A Commando Digimon that is always seen surrounded with its younger levels, Pickmons and Chibickmons. Not to be confused with regular Starmon's, this "CommandoStarmon" is much weaker on its own, but instead uses an array of complicated strategies with the Pickmon's.**

**Pickmons**

**Level: In-Training**

**Family: Unkown**

**Attacks: Coordinate with Starmon**

**The grunts of the Starmon's corps, these shade wearing guitar pick-like Digimon all dream of one day becoming a Starmon, leading their own Starmon corps.**

"Let's go comrades!" Starmon shouted. "**Meteor Squall!**" All the smaller Pickmons, orchestrated by Starmon, shot towards SkullMeramon, flying around him distractedly, drilling into his head and sides whenever they could. SkullMeramon frantically swung his arms around, beating them away with no luck like a swarm of bees. He screamed in rage, fire consuming his whole body, the Pickmon's getting blasted away dizzied. Starmon hovered in the air, spinning rapidly like a shuriken, and flew towards the enemy. SkullMeramon merely batted him away with a red hot chain, knocking him down to Sam's feet.

"Starmon!" Sam yelled, picking him up carefully.

"I'm okay brother," Starmon said, his voice straining. "I saw you fighting that guy alone... I can do it to!"

"No! You've gotta get Emily with your mini-guitar pick things while I handle him, alright? Saving lives is a bit more important, wrecking the whole place comes next."

"But if we don't beat him now... This will only get worse. Sorry brother, but I've already decided to fight!"

"Why do you keep calling me brother?!" Just then, an explosion sounded from AxeHounmon's direction. The first SkullMeramon flew through the air, landing at the second one's feet. The girl from before came out of the dust cloud, dusting off her hands. Next to her was her Digimon, but now standing on two legs like a werewolf with shredded garments and two swords by his side.

"I think we've had enough fun for the day... Lycanthmon, destroy this guy."

"Right away," he replied, taking a step forward, his hands on his sword hilts. Just then, for seemingly the first time, the girl noticed everybody else.

"W-wait, wait! Don't attack! You might hurt the other guys!" she screamed.

"You mean you only noticed them now?!" Lycanthmon yelled. The girl rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Sorry about that... Hey you look like you're in a lot of trouble," she said as she saw Emily trying to slap Kotemon back to life, and Sam and Starmon on the ground, with SkullMeramon looming over him. "Ok! I've decided! I'm gonna give you a Digivice!"

"What?" Sam asked, not sure he heard correctly.

"Yup, a Digivice. I just so happened to pick one up the other day since it looked so shiny." She fished something out of her back and took out something that looked a bit like a large old fashioned phone, much bulkier than her own Digivice. She tossed it towards Sam.

"But... Where's my Digimon?" he asked in surprise. As soon as he caught it, the shiny silver colour began to change to a bright orange.

"Right there obviously!" she yelled, pointing at Starmon.

"Him?!" Sam yelled. _I thought I'd get something cool like Emily did, _he thought to himself. A picture of Starmon even appeared on the screen with an OK symbol, as if confirming his doubts.

"Duh! Of course its him! Geez, how do you miss a floating star twice the size of your own head..." The Digivice in his hands had a blue screen close to the top, and it looked like there was something closed above the screen. It had two buttons below the screen and a circular trackpad with a button in the centre. "That thing you've got there is a Xros Loader, a newer type of Digivice that's pretty hard to come by, so don't be stupid about it.

"But, what do I..." SkullMeramon roared in rage, punching with all his might at Sam. Starmon jumped in the way, taking the blow to his face (which included his whole body as well), getting sent flying towards Kotemon. Sam rolled away just before a second punch could make its way to him, dodging by inches, flying debris and splinters shooting up near his ear. "What do I do with it?" he screamed, running away from SkullMeramon's chains.

"You DigiXros with it! What else would you do, it's a Xros Loader!"

"What does that even mean?!"

"Oh for crying out loud, be heroic for once Sam!" Emily yelled. "You always talk so big then start crying when things get nasty. Forget about what it means and just do it!"

"Yeah! What she said!" the girl yelled. "Select two Digimon and do it!" Sam gulped.

"Okay..."

"**It won't work without energy!" **the girl yelled.

"Okay I get it!" Sam adjusted his goggles on his forehead, gripping the Xross Loader tightly. He could already feel a strange energy enveloping his whole body, his clothes rippling without the wind blowing it. "Let's do this! Kotemon, Starmon, Pickmons, **DigiXros!**" he yelled, raising the Digivice into the air, energy swirling around it. A huge dark purple aura surrounded Kotemon and an orange one around Starmon and the Pickmons. They both shot into the air, smashing through the ceiling in the process, circling eachother like fireworks. The two lights shot back down into the room again, clashing in the middle.

"_**DigiXros!" **_the digimon all screamed together. The whole of Starmon's middle section hollowed out completely, replaced with what looked like a sword hilt. Four Pickmon's then stacked on top of him him one after another, sparks flying as they all connected. Finally, Kotemon's free hand actually came out of its sleeve, a blue scaled reptilian hand filled with claws. He grabbed the sword that Starmon and Pickmon had made. Four more Pickmons attached themselves to his mask horizontally, sticking to it as if Kotemon himself was biting them like a sword in his teeth. Now with his wooden sword, the new Star Blade and the Pickmon katana in his mouth, the transformation was complete.

"**Santouryou Kotemon!" **he exclaimed, brandishing his swords.

"Wha-what is that?" SkullMeramon said cautiously. "No matter, I'll crush you all here with my Heat Chains!" He swung the chains towards Kotemon. Kotemon slashed at them with all three of his swords, the kendo stick knocking it away while the Star Blade sliced it completely in half.

"Amazing... This power... Emily this is amazing!" Kotemon yelled, his silent nature also gone. "I can feel all the Digimon's thoughts and feelings running through my veins! And right now their telling me to defeat this guy!" Kotemon turned to Sam. "Thanks brother, I wouldn't have been able to get Superstar strength without you!" Kotemon pushed off with his powerful right leg, assaulting SkullMeramon with a barrage of blows too fast for the eye to see. SkullMeramon frantically tried batting each blow away with his arms, bruises cuts and gashes appearing all over his body.

"What in the name of the Devas is wrong with you?!" He yelled, finally knocking Kotemon off balance. He punched him back down to the ground with a crash, Kotemon flying all the way down to the first floor.

"Should we help them?" Lycanthmon asked.

"No need," the girl said. "They've got the situation under their control, trust me."

Sam and Emily ran back downstairs only to see Kotemon assaulting SkullMeramon again.

"Kotemon, you're not as powerful as him yet! Back of and set your kendo stick on fire!"

"Even better idea," he said. He jumped backwards, all of his swords now covered with flames. "I'll set them all on fire!" He roared as red and orange flames spread all around him, the already burning building shuddering as more of its supports began shaking with stress. **"Santoryou... Shi-no-Tachi!" **Using the two swords in his hand, he swung them both down as hard as he could, two enormous waves of fire getting slashed off of them, hurtling towards SkullMeramon. SkullMeramon breathed a wave of blue fire, the two attacks clashing in the middle. "And one for luck!" Kotemon yelled, swinging his head, the sword in his teethe sending another attack over the blast of the first.

"What? No! This can't be happening!" SkullMeramon yelled, putting his hands up to block it. The wave hit, the blast burning his face with temparatures even he couldn't stand. He screamed in pain and rage as all three waves now hit him, his particles tearing away from his bones, until finally even those were shredded apart. Data floated into the air gently, travelling back to the Digital World if what Kotemon said was true. The girl from before entered again, her Digimon back in its normal form.

"Hey that was pretty fun! Let's all do this again sometime! But I'm surprised, I didn't know if that would work or not."

"Wait, you gave me a Digivice that you didn't even know would work?!" Sam yelled angrily.

"Yeah... Only people with A Xros Code DNA signature can use a Xros Loader, so I honestly had no idea what would happen... Sorry about that!"

"Of all the... Ok, we'll forget all about that. Thanks for saving us back there!" Santouryou Kotemon walked toward the group now, all of his components separating into regular Kotemon, Starmon and the Pickmons.

"Yo! That was too much too handle brother! That was too cool! You're a legend brother! And did you see us out there? We were real Superstars!"

"Yeah, you sure were Starmon, and all you Pickmons to.

"Yeah, that's right! Don't underestimate us!" A Pickmon said with a smile. The girl smiled.

"Well, looks like I didn't need to do much this time... Well anyway, my name's Allison, and this is my partner, AxeHounmon."

"Thanks for helping us out back there," Emily said. "I'm Emily, and this is Kotemon."

"I'm Sam, and thanks for the Digivice!" Sam yelled.

"No problem! I was just trying to make sure this guy didn't take anymore stuff from people, I didn't have a choice even if you didn't know how to use it!"

"H-hey, what do you mean you had no choice?! Didn't you see potential in me?" Sam yelled angrily.

"No! I don't mean it like that! It's just that... Well lets meet again sometime!"

While they were busy getting cosy there in the background, hidden away in the shadows stood four figures, two of them digimon from their short size.

"Well, looks like we didn't need to get involved this time," a male voice said. "No need to do anything rash Dorumon."

"Heh? But I wanted to fight that digimon!" a small wolf looking digimon whined.

"Yeah, me too," a female voice said, this time coming from a cat-like digimon.

"Don't worry too much about it Gatomon. We just arrived a second too late. We'll get them next time," an older female voice said. "Besides, we have more things to do than hunt down stray Digimon for once. That's pretty rare isn't it?"

"Yeah," the male said. "We have to find _him _again. And Fleria said that something big was going down anyway. We're barely even given a year to rest and already all hell's gonna break loose. Ah well, guess that happens when you associate with Digimon." The four of them turned away from the scene, their mysteries disappearing under their umbrellas as they left the building, hidden by the blackened rain.


End file.
